1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a nozzle inspection tool, and more particularly, a nozzle inspection tool that can be used to inspect nozzles within a nuclear reactor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of nuclear energy to generate electricity began in the early 20th century after the discovery that radioactive elements such as radium release immense amounts of energy. Initially, however, harnessing such energy was impractical because intensely radioactive elements are very short-lived.
By the late 1930s, experiments were being conducted with nuclear fusion. Those experiments in nuclear fusion led to the Manhattan Project, which led to the first nuclear weapons, which were used in World War II on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After World War II, nuclear energy was used to generate power with the USSR's Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant becoming the world's first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a power grid. The world's first commercial nuclear power plant was opened in 1956 in Sallafield, England. The first commercial nuclear generator to become operational in the United States was the Shipping Port Reactor in Pennsylvania in 1957.
By 2005, 15% of the world's electricity was generated by nuclear power, with the United States, France and Japan accounting for 56% of the nuclear generated electricity. As of December 2009, the world had 436 nuclear reactors.
While many different things have affected the number of nuclear reactors, the growth of nuclear power was impeded by (1) the Three-Mile Island accident in 1979, (2) Zhernobyl disaster in 1986, and (3) Wukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. With these accidents, there has been an increased emphasis on safety and a decline in the growth rate of nuclear reactors. One of the areas of increased safety emphasis is in the containment vessel and in the lines flowing fluid to and from the nuclear power plant reactors. An item requiring inspection is the various welds and joints in (1) the containment vessel, (2) nuclear power reactors and (3) the lines leading and from such vessels.
In the United States, there are approximately 104 operating nuclear reactors. Of those, sixty-nine are pressurized water reactors (PWR) and thirty-five are boiling water reactors (BWR). In both the PWR and BWR, fluid is converted to steam and the steam is used to turn a turbine that generates the electricity. The conduits taking the fluid or steam to or from the turbine have to be inspected, especially the welds occurring in the nozzles.
In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for ensuring public health through licensing and inspection of nuclear power plants. One of the things that the NRC requires to be inspected are the welds that occur in the containment vessel and in the nozzles leading to and from the containment vessel.